A few hours later.
Sora stood before a crowd of players inside the Stade de France.
'The first wars start in just fifteen minutes. No ti to waste,' he thought.
Around him stood over four hundred thousand players from all around the place, gathered to defend European territories. Far from feeling overwheld, Sora felt perfectly in his elent.
He had already led armies inside the Tower and had learned how to get the best out of his soldiers.
'I won't need their full firepower today, but I do plan to pick out the most promising recruits so that the war rewards help them grow stronger. I can always help them later.'
The day before, he had received detailed information about each player from Asta Nadal, and he rembered every detail about the people standing before him.
Focusing on that information, and having already located every player in the stadium, he waved his hand. Instantly, the entire crowd was reorganized across the stands.
Looking stunned, as none of them had understood how they had been moved, they saw a banner materializing. The banner displayed a few words in the air.
Sora finally spoke, "The first group, made up of 50,000 players, will face the Dark Elves Kingdom in England for a Tier 2 war. The second group is composed of 150,000 players. We'll be selecting from among you whenever we need players for a Tier 3 war, and we'll send you directly there. Sa principle for the third group, but for the Tier 4 wars. As for the last group, we probably won't need you today but stay nearby as reserves."
He opened the new interface he had access to.
[Active Wars — European Territories]
→ [United Kingdom - London - Dark Elves Kingdom - Tier 2]
Status: Starting in 14:21
Assigned Troops: 0 / 50,000
Commander: Pending
→ [Germany - Stuttgart - Dark Elves Kingdom - Tier 3]
Status: Starting in 14:21
Assigned Troops: 0 / 10,000
Commander: Pending
→ [Germany - Berlin - Werewolves Kingdom - Tier 3]
Status: Starting in 14:21
Assigned Troops: 0 / 10,000
Commander: Pending
→ [Ukraine - Kiev - Demon Kingdom - Tier 3]
Status: Starting in 14:21
Assigned Troops: 0 / 10,000
Commander: Pending
→ [Spain - Barcelona - Spirit Kingdom - Tier 4]
Status: Starting in 2:14:21
Assigned Troops: 0 / 5,000
Commander: Pending
... 52 More Active War Zones ...
Sora quickly selected soldiers of all ranks for every war about to begin. To his surprise, he saw the clothes of every player changing in real ti, displaying their assigned rank on their equipnt.
'A new feature?' he guessed.
He also selected his own [Alter Egos], disguised with new faces among the crowd, as generals for each small army.
Once satisfied with the preparations, and after exchanging glances with his brothers, he created massive portals within the stadium — each one leading to Berlin, Stuttgart, London, Kiev, and Brussels.
Finding in the nu the option to issue orders, and noticing the potential sanctions he was allowed to apply, Sora smiled.
'High-ranking officers basically have the power of life and death over lower-ranked soldiers who disobey. That's exactly why I needed to be at the very top of the chain of command.'
Sora thought briefly about other battlefronts, places like India, before shaking his head. The leaders of those regions didn't want his help, and he had no intention of placing himself at their rcy for any war.
'Too bad for them… And to everyone I won't be able to help, don't hold it against .'
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With his interface still open, he gave his first official order.
[Enter the portal corresponding to your war. Good luck.]
Seeing the faces of thousands of players light up, Sora knew the notification had reached everyone.
The assigned players began moving at once, heading toward their respective portals.
Once all the participants for the first wave of wars had disappeared, the [Alter Egos] left their positions and followed after them, closing the march.
***
A few hours later.
Shade appeared north of London, in a place he identified as Benington, in the county of Hertfordshire, thanks to the mories of soone he had interrogated in the past.
Although the area was deserted, he wasn't surprised. The enemy was at London's gates, and this place was perfect for the appearance of the colossal Coliseum that would host the battle...
Behind Shade stood 50,000 n and won. Thanks to Sora's morization and the update from the day before, Shade rembered the na of every single one of them.
'That's a lot of people to babysit…' he thought.
As everyone had expected it, no one was surprised when a massive Coliseum appeared, replacing the abandoned village.
Monts later, the entire army was teleported into the stands...
Shade ignored the reactions of the players behind him and started scanning the opposing army for a particular face.
After a few monts, he sighed, 'A lot of faces I've seen before, especially in Sweden and the Twoer, but Sarsha and Klunor aren't here. Those two must be way too high level now.'
He smiled, 'Well then, looks like I won't have to kill anyone I know today.'
Sensing the arrival of his 'generals,' he turned around.
Admiral Figaro was the first to speak, "Commander Shade, we're glad to have you with us today. Commander-in-chief Sora Hashino didn't brief us on the battlefield's organization. Do you have any particular strategy in mind?"
"Just don't let yourselves get Aced or Flawlessed. That should be enough to secure our final victory," Shade replied simply.
Seeing the stunned expressions of the five generals in front of him, he sighed, "Don't worry. No matter what happens during the preliminary battles, I'll obliterate the enemy army during the final battle. Nothing else matters."
Still getting no answer, he added, "Now that you ntion it, there is indeed sothing you can do to guarantee us a quick victory."
The expressions of Amélie Aubespin, Jérô Figaro, and the three other generals relaxed, showing their relief that this overly confident commander might actually have a plan...
A few minutes later...
Shade read the words that appeared in the sky.
[PVP Event: Dark Elf Kingdom vs New World Kingdom]
[Category: Tier 2 War]
[Reward: United Kingdom Territory Ownership]
[Content: Greetings - Phase 1]
Monts later, a countdown replaced the fading words.
One hundred companies, each composed of one hundred players, disappeared from the stands and reappeared within the arena. One hundred battlefields separated by barriers hosted a company from each kingdom. The companies were led by captains and two vice-captains each.
Shade planned to observe every arena but couldn't help paying closer attention to the few players Sora had asked him to watch.
'Amélie is already fighting in the first series of battle. And the child Kara went to pick up from the Class center in Barcelona is now an adult... I never really focused on his training, but it looks like he spent a long ti in Kara's ti bubble. He looks like he's in his twenties now, and he's level 130. I'm counting on you to impress them, kid.'
Shade continued scanning the high-potential players while waiting for the battle to begin. The maximum level during a Tier 2 war was 130, which ant players above that level had their levels capped at 130.
'And since the war forbids participation from all players above level 180, today we've got players between level 120 and 180...'
After a few monts, the first wave of battles began.
Part of Shade's attention was on Amélie. 'She looks furious… Is it because of the strategy I presented?'
Still specializing in archery, she held a flexible bow in her left hand but no quiver.
'An archer specializing in elents. She chose the class I recomnded to her in the Alpha Division. Best archer class for slaughtering noobs. Pretty decent against spirits or elental golems. Not the best against Dark Elves though, but should be enough for the first battles.'
When the battle started, she disappeared from the radars, but Shade could follow her movents perfectly with his senses.
'Since her affinity with the [Space] elent is very high, her moves are pretty unpredictable... This is looking good,' he thought.
And indeed, while the hundred players of her company focused on defending against enemy attacks, the enemy company failed to eliminate any of them.
After a few monts, cracks appeared in the sky above the Dark Elves, and before the players could realize what was happening, a rain of arrows began to fall on their heads.
The arrows were made of various elents and mainly targeted players wearing plate armor, leather armor, or anything that countered physical damage.
Seeing their comrades drop like flies, the players specializing in mastering elents or various energies imdiately regrouped and ford countless barriers around the survivors to protect themselves from the rain of arrows.
But as if she had anticipated this move, Amélie smiled and activated one of her skills.
Under the Dark Elves' barriers — so physical, others elental — hundreds of arrows that had missed their targets began to vibrate slightly.
A player who noticed the phenonon had a terrible feeling and was about to warn his allies.
But before he could speak, an arrow less than a ter away from him exploded, releasing an impressive amount of [Earth] and [Fire] elents.
Shade smiled as he watched the opposing company lt away like snow in the sun, silently praising Amélie. 'Nice combo. Kara would be proud of you, Amélie.'
Turning his gaze to the other battles, his smile gradually faded, 'It's going pretty badly almost everywhere else...'
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